well, at least in America we have standards to prevent this...

This product contains vacuum | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine:

I don’t know if some advertisers are stupid, or if they assume we’re stupid.

Case in point: I hear commercials where they say things like they’re product is "all natural". I like to point out that arsenic is an element. You can’t get much more natural than that, but I don’t want it in my lemonade.

So what do you do when a product is advertised as having no chemicals in it? Especially when it’s Miracle Gro, a product I’m pretty sure has at least some chemicals in it. Well, if you’re like me, you blog about it. If you are the UK government’s body in charge of advertising, you say it’s OK for companies to lie about their products on the air.

The subject above, was, of course, sarcastic.  The link basically describes how the British Government basically decided to redefine "Chemistry" rather than insist on a higher standard.  Gee, I wonder where they learned that lesson - just redefine the word so it means what you think it means, and you're morally in the clear...

The final comment is worth reading:

If you want the respectability that scientific grounding brings, you can't abandon that process when it doesn't agree with your current understanding. If anything, science means challenging perceived truths, however uncomfortable that may be.

how quaint...

A Blog Around The Clock : Rage 2.0:

I went back to my room and looked around. There were several objects in the room that, if there was a problem, hotel would fix quickly, yet they looked so quaint, so 20th century, so useless in today's world.

There were alarm clocks. Why? Mrs.Coturnix and I are not gadget-happy folks, yet between us we had at least 4 or 5 "things" that have the alarm clock function on them (two cell phones, a blackberry, two laptops).

There were radios. Who listens to the radio (except locally, when at home - that's different)? If I want music, I do not want to depend on some local DJ and his taste. I will go online and find exactly the music I want to hear at any given moment (and put it on my iPod if I want to). If I want news, I do not want to depend on the scheduling and choices of the radio news team. I will go online and find exactly the news and information I need at that moment. Even if I overhear some piece of news on the radio, I will have to go online to check if it is true, because Corporate Media is not to be trusted - it is unreliable.

There was a TV. I have not turned on a TV in a hotel in years! What for? For entertainment, TV is crappy - there is so much more and better stuff online. And anyway, I am traveling, my entertainment is likely happening outside of my room - sightseeing, meeting bloggers, participating in a conference.... As for news and information, TV is even less reliable than radio. The Web rules.

There was a telephone. A land line. Why? Because that is the only way to call the reception desk until they adopt a more modern technology. When was the last time you used your room land-line phone to make a call out? To a friend? A decade ago?

I'll be perfectly happy to get a room without an alarm clock, without a radio, without a TV and without a telephone if I am guaranteed flawless perfect online access included in the price of the room.

Actually, we do turn the TV on in the morning when in hotels but mostly for the local weather and Today Show.

literary history question

Did the phrase "modest proposal" (meaning, of course, a totally over the top sarcastic suggestion) come from the 1729 book, or did it exist before?

saw a sneak preview of MDRF's R&J

trust me - find the time and see this sometime during the run.  it ain't your 9th grade english class here, this is real and most excellent.  a lot of actors you "know" at festival are really stretching out and showing things you don't normally see from them during their Revel Grove (or court) characters.